Suyab
Encyclopedia
Suyab was an ancient Silk Road
city located some 50 km east from Bishkek
, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok
, in the Chui River valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan
.
merchants sprang up along the Silk Road
in the 5th or 6th centuries. The name of the city derives from that of the Suyab River,
whose origin is Iranian (in Persian
: suy means "toward"+ ab for "water", "rivers"). It was first recorded by Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang
who travelled in the area in 629:
During the reign of Tong Yabgu Qaghan, Suyab was the principal capital of the Western Turkic Khaganate
. The khagan
also had a summer capital in Navekat near the springs north of Tashkent
in the Talas Valley, the capitals are being noted as the westernmost capital of Western Turkic Khaganate. There was a sort of symbiosis
, with the Sogdians responsible for economical prosperity and the Gokturks
in charge of the city's military security.
Following the downfall of the khaganate, Suyab was absorbed into the Tang Empire, of which it was a western military outpost between 648 and 719. A Chinese fortress was built there in 679, and Buddhism
flourished. According to some accounts, the great poet Li Bai
was born in Suyab. The Chinese traveller Du Huan
, who visited Suyab after 751, found among the ruins a still-functioning Buddhist monastery, where Princess Jiaohe, daughter of Ashina Huaidao, used to dwell.
Suyab was one of the Four Garrisons of Anxi Protectorate until 719, when it was handed over to Sulu Khagan
of the Turgesh
, appointed by the Chinese court as the "Loyal and Obedient Qaghan". After Sulu's murder in 738, the town was promptly retaken by Chinese forces, along with Talas
. The fort was strategically important during the wars between the China
and Tibet
. In 766, the city fell to a Qarluq
ruler, allied with the nascent Uyghur Khaganate.
Of the subsequent history of Suyab there is little record, especially after the Chinese evacuated the Four Garrisons in 787. David Nicolle
states that Suyab provided 80,000 warriors for the Qarluq army and that it was governed by a man known as "King of Heroes". Hudud al-Alam, completed in 983, lists Suyab as a city of 20,000 inhabitants. It is believed to have been supplanted by Balasagun
in the early 11th century and was abandoned soon thereafter.
, the capital of the Kara-Khitans. Wilhelm Barthold, who visited the site in 1893-94, also lent his support to this identification. Although excavations started in 1938, it was not until the 1950s that it was determined that the site had been abandoned as early as the 11th century and therefore would not be identical with Balasagun, which had flourished until the 14th century.
The archaeological site of Suyab covers some 30 hectare
s. As a testimony to Suyab's diverse and vibrant culture, the site encompasses remains of Chinese fortifications, Christian churches, Zoroastrian ossuaries
, and Turkic bal-bal
s. The site is particularly rich in finds of Buddha
statues and stelae. Apart from several Buddhist temples, there were a Nestorian church and cemetery from the 7th century, and probably also a 10th-century monastery with frescoes and inscriptions in Sogdian
and Uyghur scripts.
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
city located some 50 km east from Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
, in the Chui River valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
.
History
The settlement of SogdianSogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...
merchants sprang up along the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
in the 5th or 6th centuries. The name of the city derives from that of the Suyab River,
whose origin is Iranian (in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: suy means "toward"+ ab for "water", "rivers"). It was first recorded by Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
who travelled in the area in 629:
Traveling 500 liLi (unit)The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
to the north west of Great Qing Lake, we arrive at the city of the Suye River. The city is 6 or 7 liLi (unit)The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
in circuit; various Hu ("barbarian") merchants here came from surrounding nations congregate and dwell. The soil is favourable for red millet and for grapes; the woods are not thick, the climate is windy and cold; the people wear garments of twilled wool. Traveling from Suye westward, there are a great number of isolated towns; in each there is a chieftain; these are not dependent on one another, but all are in submission to the Tujue.
During the reign of Tong Yabgu Qaghan, Suyab was the principal capital of the Western Turkic Khaganate
Western Turkic Khaganate
The Western Turkic Khaganate was formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century after the Göktürk Khaganate had splintered into two politiesEastern and Western.The Western Turks initially sought friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire in order to expand their...
. The khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
also had a summer capital in Navekat near the springs north of Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
in the Talas Valley, the capitals are being noted as the westernmost capital of Western Turkic Khaganate. There was a sort of symbiosis
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
, with the Sogdians responsible for economical prosperity and the Gokturks
Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...
in charge of the city's military security.
Following the downfall of the khaganate, Suyab was absorbed into the Tang Empire, of which it was a western military outpost between 648 and 719. A Chinese fortress was built there in 679, and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
flourished. According to some accounts, the great poet Li Bai
Li Bai
Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...
was born in Suyab. The Chinese traveller Du Huan
Du Huan
Du Huan was a Chinese travel writer born in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. He was one of a few Chinese captured in the Battle of Talas along with artisans Fan Shu and Liu Ci and fabric weavers Le Wei and Lu Li, as mentioned in his writings. After a long journey through Arab countries, he...
, who visited Suyab after 751, found among the ruins a still-functioning Buddhist monastery, where Princess Jiaohe, daughter of Ashina Huaidao, used to dwell.
Suyab was one of the Four Garrisons of Anxi Protectorate until 719, when it was handed over to Sulu Khagan
Sulu khan
Suluk, Sul-lu or Sulu was a Turkic tribe leader and a warlord who defended Transoxania against Ummayad Arab armies in the early eight century.- Turgesh :Turgesh was a Turkic tribe around Transoxania...
of the Turgesh
Turgesh
The Türgesh, Turgish or Türgish were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Kaganate...
, appointed by the Chinese court as the "Loyal and Obedient Qaghan". After Sulu's murder in 738, the town was promptly retaken by Chinese forces, along with Talas
Taraz
Taraz , is a city and a center of the Jambyl Province in Kazakhstan. It is located in the south of Kazakhstan, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, on the Talas River...
. The fort was strategically important during the wars between the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. In 766, the city fell to a Qarluq
Qarluq
The Karluks were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribe residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains...
ruler, allied with the nascent Uyghur Khaganate.
Of the subsequent history of Suyab there is little record, especially after the Chinese evacuated the Four Garrisons in 787. David Nicolle
David Nicolle
David C. Nicolle is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular in the Middle East....
states that Suyab provided 80,000 warriors for the Qarluq army and that it was governed by a man known as "King of Heroes". Hudud al-Alam, completed in 983, lists Suyab as a city of 20,000 inhabitants. It is believed to have been supplanted by Balasagun
Balasagun
Balasagun was an ancient Soghdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chui River valley between Bishkek and Issyk-Kul Lake....
in the early 11th century and was abandoned soon thereafter.
Archaeological site
In the 19th century the ruins at Ak-Beshim were erroneously identified with BalasagunBalasagun
Balasagun was an ancient Soghdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chui River valley between Bishkek and Issyk-Kul Lake....
, the capital of the Kara-Khitans. Wilhelm Barthold, who visited the site in 1893-94, also lent his support to this identification. Although excavations started in 1938, it was not until the 1950s that it was determined that the site had been abandoned as early as the 11th century and therefore would not be identical with Balasagun, which had flourished until the 14th century.
The archaeological site of Suyab covers some 30 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. As a testimony to Suyab's diverse and vibrant culture, the site encompasses remains of Chinese fortifications, Christian churches, Zoroastrian ossuaries
Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
, and Turkic bal-bal
Bal-Bal
In Philippine mythology, a Bal-Bal is a monster that steals corpses whether it is in a funeral or grave and feeds on them. It has a strong sense of smell for dead human bodies. It also has claws and teeth sharp enough to rip the clothing of the dead. Since it eats nothing but corpses, it has a foul...
s. The site is particularly rich in finds of Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
statues and stelae. Apart from several Buddhist temples, there were a Nestorian church and cemetery from the 7th century, and probably also a 10th-century monastery with frescoes and inscriptions in Sogdian
Sogdian language
The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language that was spoken in Sogdiana , located in modern day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan ....
and Uyghur scripts.
External links
- Суяб или городище Ак-Бешим ("Suyab, or the fortified settlement Ak-Beshim")